Ramblin’ Rose rambles into town

Much like their RV dubbed "Ramblin’ Rose," Kandyce and Kristyn Carroll are travelers, moving with the seasons and reveling in their wanderlust along the American interstates and highways. But Ramblin’ Rose is also the name of the two sisters’ first business, a 100 percent plant-based moving café that makes a weekly stop in Park City for the Park Silly Market.

The two have been part-time residents of Park City since 2007 when Kristyn first moved into town taking winter jobs, off- and on-positions and odd jobs. Both love snowboarding and the winter scene, but this is the first year they have spent the summer in town.

The talent between the Carrolls is split. Kristyn, who has a culinary background including spending time as a Deer Valley Resort employee, handles the food. Kandyce, a University of Utah student, takes care of the atmosphere, imagining a RV into a café.

"My love of food has married with healthy cooking, I think," Kristyn said. "The two go hand-in-hand. I love providing food for people, but I also like to provide healthy food that will satisfy them and sustain them, give them health."

Kandyce is studying art and has put her styling talents to use.

"My sister is the food and I designed the trailer," she said. "I’m like the front of the house, dealing with the customers and the feel and vibe of it. Although it’s a mobile trailer, we really wanted it to feel like the café is coming to you. There are tables and people can sit down and enjoy the food, just like a café, but it’s mobile."

Recommended Stories For You

The two are just getting their start, but getting involved in the markets has started to pay off as they continue to build relationships with local growers, getting closer to the source of the food. Kristyn got her start in health food while working at a pescatarian diner near Seattle. Thrown into healthy cooking head first, she decided to embrace a completely vegan diet that she passed on to her sister.

"The food is all-American classics, like the mint julep teas are southern," Kandyce said, "Then we have avocado toast and tacos which are California. We pull from inspiration from the places we’ve lived and what we’ve liked."

Working without a stove or oven has created a few hurdles in creating a menu, but Kristyn found a balance by adopting a raw-diet menu. But keeping a sense of nostalgia has been key, a fact that may have created just as many hurdles. Refurbishing Ramblin’ Rose into a mobile café meant some serious sweat equity and some favors from family members. But with only days to spare to wrap up the process, Kandyce and Kristyn were ready for business.

The paint had dried, the furniture they pull out to create that "café feel" was packed and the signs explaining what a plant-based diet is had a home.

"It is nostalgic, and we love things that have character and personality," she said. "Food is about people getting together and creating memories. Some of my best memories come from that, and that’s what I feel like we’re doing."

The Carrolls have been focusing on the farmer’s market setting but hope to one day expand outside of the RV. The two speculate what that might look like. Possibly a farm-to-table restaurant? Cooking classes where students start by selecting their fresh produce in the garden? For now, Kandyce and Kristyn are learning the ropes of their first business and developing their evolving menu which Kristyn hopes to perfect.

"I really wanted to have something of my own," Kristyn said. "That was my dream in going to culinary school and working these seasonal cooking jobs. I wanted to have my own creative space, an outlet to express myself. This is my starting point."